Department for Transport

Network Rail

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which studies or investigations are currently examining past, present or future issues relating to Network Rail; who commissioned each study or investigation; and what are the names of the study or investigation leaders, terms of reference and planned reporting dates for each.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 23 July 2015.The correct answer should have been:

The Government has recently commissioned three pieces of work looking into Network Rail: - Dame Colette Bowe is looking at what lessons can be learnt from the planning of the Control Period 5 programme in order to improve future rail infrastructure investment. This will report in September. - Sir Peter Hendy is looking at how we can put the current investment programme back on a sustainable footing. This will also report in the autumn. - Nicola Shaw will look to the future: advising the government on how it should approach the future shape and financing of Network Rail in the longer term. This will report in time for Budget 2016. The terms of reference for Bowe are available in the Libraries of the House. Those for Shaw will also be placed in the Libraries of the House. Terms of reference for Hendy have not been published. Terms of reference for the other two pieces of work have not been published. Network Rail and the Office of Rail and Road are also conducting their own reviews internally. Any terms of reference are held by the respective organisations.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government has recently commissioned three pieces of work looking into Network Rail: - Dame Colette Bowe is looking at what lessons can be learnt from the planning of the Control Period 5 programme in order to improve future rail infrastructure investment. This will report in September. - Sir Peter Hendy is looking at how we can put the current investment programme back on a sustainable footing. This will also report in the autumn. - Nicola Shaw will look to the future: advising the government on how it should approach the future shape and financing of Network Rail in the longer term. This will report in time for Budget 2016. The terms of reference for Bowe are available in the Libraries of the House. Those for Shaw will also be placed in the Libraries of the House. Terms of reference for Hendy have not been published. Terms of reference for the other two pieces of work have not been published. Network Rail and the Office of Rail and Road are also conducting their own reviews internally. Any terms of reference are held by the respective organisations.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Devolution

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect of devolving powers as a means of improving local democracy within Council of Europe member states; and whether there are lessons they have drawn from devolution settlements in the other Council of Europe member states as regards plans for the further devolution of powers within the United Kingdom.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We and other member states have regular exchanges on democracy issues in the Council of Europe Steering Committee – the European Committee on Democracy and Governance – where, for example, in December 2014, the former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my noble Friend Lord Ahmad, provided an overview of the Northern Powerhouse and other devolution issues. In April 2015 Ministers from Armenia and Georgia and the Deputy State Secretary of Moldova also gave presentations on the process of decentralisation and territorial reform in their countries.

Democracy

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of measures other than the devolution of powers to enhance local democracy within Council of Europe member states; and what actions they have taken, or plan to take, to support such measures both in other Council of Europe member states and within the United Kingdom.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We and other member states have regular exchanges on democracy issues in the Council of Europe. Acting to strengthen democracy in the United Kingdom, and to support such measures in other member states, is a priority, as shown by the action of the Conservative-led Coalition Government to improve the transparency and openness of local authorities through the introduction of the Transparency Code. We have provided practical support to assist the Ukrainian Government in their decentralisation reforms, led by the visit of the former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my noble Friend Lord Ahmad, to Kiev in September 2014.

Cabinet Office

Devolution

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to respond to the report by the Constitution Committee published on 27 March, Inter-governmental relations in the United Kingdom.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Lords’ Constitution Committee report on Intergovernmental Relations in the United Kingdom followed soon after a Plenary meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee, at which the Heads of all four of the UK administrations agreed to begin work on a revised Memorandum of Understanding. As part of this process the administrations are considering the recommendations of the Silk and Smith Commissions, as well as other recent reports on intergovernmental relations including the Constitution Committee’s report.The process is continuing and will require careful consideration and discussion between all four administrations of the UK. We therefore do not know exactly how long this might take and should be cautious to avoid prejudging its conclusions. The four administrations will jointly set out the conclusions of this process in due course, and will of course keep the House updated of developments.

Devolution

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which territories they regard as having government that is devolved from the United Kingdom Parliament.

Lord Bridges of Headley: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have legislatures and associated executives that exercise powers that have been devolved from the UK Parliament. This is defined in primary legislation.In England, there is also administrative devolution of powers, spending, and decision-making to local Councils, and through specific deals with Greater Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Cornwall.The Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill aims to provide enabling legislation for these and further devolution deals. The Bill provides for the devolution of administrative powers and budgets, but does not include provision for the transfer of legislative capacity.

Home Office Commissioned Reviews Looking at Information Held in Connection with Child Abuse from 1979-1999 Independent Review

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will place in the Library of the House the files referred to in the supplementary report of the Wanless-Whittam review, published on 22 July.

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what if any evidence they have that permanent secretaries have held any miscellaneous or unstructured files in their private offices.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Minister for the Cabinet Office made a statement on a set of unstructured records held by the Cabinet Office on 4 February 2015 (HLWS229). He also announced that a review of the papers is under way. Papers will be considered for opening to the public in the normal way at The National Archives as the review progresses. Information held by other government departments is not held centrally.

Electoral Register

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the accuracy and completeness of the United Kingdom electoral register.

Lord Bridges of Headley: On 18 June the Electoral Commission published their analysis of the state of the electoral registers in Great Britain used for the General Election. The data collected for the report did not allow an estimate of the completeness and accuracy to be made.The last full assessment of the completeness and accuracy of electoral registers in Great Britain was published in July 2014 and was based on the last household registers prior to the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration (IER).The next full assessment will be based on the first full IER registers once the transition has ended.To ensure electors can have confidence in the accuracy and integrity of the electoral register, under IER applicants are asked to provide their National Insurance number and date of birth (or supporting documentation), so that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) can verify that everyone on the register is who they say they are.

Electoral Register

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to improve the accuracy and completeness of the United Kingdom electoral register.

Lord Bridges of Headley: On 16 July the Government announced as part of its decision to end the transition to IER in December 2015 that up to £3 million additional funding is being made available to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in Great Britain to undertake extra registration activities to target the remaining carry forward electors on registers that are not individually registered. This funding can be used by EROs to complement their annual canvass activities as they work to improve the completeness and accuracy of electoral registers ahead of December. Over £14 million funding has been invested over the last two financial years to support the costs of activities to boost levels of voter registration in Great Britain. This included almost £10 million ahead of the elections on 7 May.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Property: Registration

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to require the Land Registry to record the purchase price of all properties, including those where the transaction is in a foreign currency or where the price is not precisely stated.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Land Registry Rules state that a price paid or value declared must be entered where “practicable”. Transactions in a foreign currency are not exempt from these Rules. With all transactions there may be situations where the entry of the price paid or value stated information may be considered misleading or not reasonable for the customer to provide.   There are currently no plans to change the current practice which is explained in full in Land Registry’s Practice Guide 7, available on the GOV.UK website. This guide also describes how Land Registry deals with transactions where the price is not exactly stated.